Talitha, Cumi: Week of 2-23

On Monday we headed for St. Louis to attend a Young Leaders Encounter at First Baptist Church of Arnold. Fortunately my parents are only about 15 minutes away so Liam got some grandparent/aunt time! But back to the conference...all I can say is wow. The way that church pours into the lives of other pastors is amazing.

When we got there they served us a wonderful soup/salad lunch. We had a time of worship with one of the church's worship leaders followed by a message by their pastor. Then they gave each of the ladies a $100 bill, put us on a chartered bus and dropped us off at the mall and said to be back in 3 hours. The only rules were that you could not spend the money on your husband or your children. Whoa, wait, what??? Of course a trip to Maurice's was definitely in order! It's my favorite store and I haven't shopped there in over a year due to having a baby and because I have more than enough clothes so I couldn't ever justify spending money on clothes for myself. I got to hang out with some other young pastor's wives from across the state of Missouri and Illinois and it was awesome. It's always encouraging to get to visit with other people who are in the same stage of life as you.

When we got back to the church, the guys were waiting there to meet us (oh, the guys were also given a $25 Bass Pro gift card). They had been listening to other experienced pastors talk all afternoon. The church had dinner for us that was pretty equivalent to Thanksgiving. Also there were some former FBC Fenton ladies there serving dinner and it was so good to get to see them after so many years! After dinner they gave the ladies a gift bag with a set of Mary Kay "Satin Hands" in it. I've heard it's some good stuff! After that they dismissed us for the evening and they had given us keys to a hotel room down the street. When we got to our hotel room there was a box full of all sorts of goodies and snacks waiting on the bed. They were super delicious. We spent the evening just hanging out and relaxing without a little 16lb munchkin by our side.

The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel (It was a Drury hotel so the breakfast was obviously delicious) and then we headed back to the church. They had different sessions for the men than for the women. The speakers were a husband and wife who used to minister at SBU. She spoke with the women about life lessons she had learned and opened up the room for sharing. Then we ate lunch and once again the women were given a gift, this time it was some Bath and Body Works hand soap and body lotion. Shortly after lunch we headed back to my parents' house to get Liam. I sure missed that little fella!! My grandparents were there visiting Liam so it was really good to get to see them too.

When we got back home I'm pretty sure the house elves had been out and messed up my house so I had every intention of cleaning up their mess on Wednesday. Caleb left to go to the office around 2. Liam also went down for a nap about that time so I thought that I would close my eyes for a little bit. Fast forward over three hours later, I woke up around 5:15 and about panicked. I had told Caleb I would meet him at church at 5:30. Liam was surprisingly still fast asleep and hadn't been fed at all or anything. Oops.

Thursday I went to Columbia. I HAD to go get the good deals at Target this week. They also had several end caps with 70% off clearance. Hello. And yoga pants for $7.25 after coupons. Don't mind if I do. Liam, for once, was not an angelic baby for his dad while I was gone. That little booger refused to nap from 1 pm until 9:30 pm.

On Friday I worked on organizing Liam's clothes. That could pretty much be a full-time job. Since I was running out of tubs to put his clothes in, I found some big storage tubs and old diaper boxes we weren't using and put his newborn-6 month clothes in them. Looking through his newborn clothes was a mistake. How did he ever used to be so tiny? Why can't he go back to that size? WHY DOES HE HAVE TO GROW UP? I know, I know. I can always have another....it's just that whole being pregnant again for 9 months thing that really gets me right now.

This week I got Liam's amber necklace in the mail. It's supposed to help with teething. I'm not totally for sure how it works but I've heard awesome things about them. I wrapped it around his wrist because he likes to pull on things and I'm afraid of him choking himself. When it's around his wrist he can't grab on to it. I just have to make sure to keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't get too tight as he gets older. I did, however, take it off after a few days because he got a light red rash all down his back. I'm not sure if it's from the necklace or not. Another possible culprit could be butternut squash. He started eating that on Monday (or was it Sunday? I dont know) and I noticed the rash on Thursday morning. I quit giving him the squash but as of Saturday it's still there. Does anyone else have any ideas? I haven't switched laundry detergents either. I make my own and it only has Fels-naptha, borax, and washing soda...so no dyes or scents. Liam goes to the doctor this upcoming week so I can ask her about it if it doesn't go away.

Here's a picture of the necklace/bracelet. It was the best I could do with a squirmy baby

Here's the rash. It's hard to see it really well because it's so light, but it's all over his back.

I've done a really bad job at taking pictures this week. Liam has been rather fussy this week, especially if he is not constantly being held or getting your complete attention.

Watching Oscar

This is a video I posted on facebook. Caleb had been trying to get Liam to say Dada so while Caleb was outside I worked on Mama. Liam would only say baba which I thought sounded like grandpa but I didn't want to be "that parent" who hears things that their kids really don't say. It turns out that several on facebook agreed that it sounded like grandpa. Caleb came in mid-video and put his two cents worth into it. :-) (I like how you can tell by Liam's eyes when Caleb walks in the room)